Bow-facing oar.



mfszsgoz. Patented July 25, I899.

' E .1. STEELE & A. OLSON.

BOW Home on.

(Application: Med Aug. 26, 1898.)

:No Model.)

WITNESSES: a ga g E v Br JTIWZJEI':

UNITED STATES PATENT Orrron.

JOHN STEELE AND ,ANTON OLSON, on ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNORS OF ONE-THIRD TO PETER'N. LINDoUIsT, OF SAME PLACE; SAID STEELE AS- SIGNOR TO SAID oLsoN AND LINDQUIST.

BOW-FACING OAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part a Letters Patent No. 529,402, dated July as, 1899.

Application filed August 26, 1898. Serial No. 689,671. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, J I 1N STEELEVaHd AN TON OLSON, citizens of the United States, re-

siding at St. Paul, in the countyof Ramseyand State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bow- Facing Oars; and we do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures ofrefen ence marked thereon ,which form a part of thi specification. r

Our invention relates to improvements in boat-0ars; and the objects of the invention are, first, to provide an improved bow-facing oar, enabling a person to look in the direction he is rowing the boat; second, to provide a bow-facing car in which all the parts work with great ease'and still'without rattling; third, to provide a bow facing car in which the wear of the parts may easily be taken up Figure 1 is a top or plan View of the oarat-' Fig. 2 is a side 3 5 tached to a portion of a boat.

view of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view of the plate secured to the boat as a seat for securing the car to'and the part pivoted thereto. Fig. 4: is an enlarged top View of the 0 main mechanism with the top plate removed. Fig. 5 is a further improvement of the parts seen in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a detail View of the pivot or pin securing theoarto the boat. Fig. 7 is a substantially central sectional view on 5 theline a a in Fig. 1.

Referring to the various parts in the drawings by reference-numerals, 8 is an elongated angle-plate forming the seat or supportingbase of the device. Its horizontal fiange'9 its other end and the socket.

may be bolted or screwed to the strip or mold- 5o ing 10 by the bolts or'screws ll, orwhere the molding is too narrow for this the bolts may be passed horizontally,'as at" 12, through the vertical flange 13 of the plate. To the lugs 14 of said base-plate is pivoted by the pin 15 the frame-plate 16, upon which is secured by the screws 17 the cap-plate 18, provided'with the two lugs or posts 19, holding the two plates the proper distance apart.

Between the elongated plates 16 and 18 are pivotally secured the two inter-geared toothed segments or mutilated gear-wheels 20 and 20, provided with the sockets 21, in one of'which is secured the blade-section 22 and in the other the handle-section 23 of the car. The pivots 24, on which said segments swing, may have their heads countersunk into; the segments, as in Fig. 2, or into the cap-plate, as

at 50 in Fig. 7. In either case the cap-plate covers the top ends of the pivots and prevents 7o them from workingout Off their proper position while still allowing them to turn, so as not to wear flat or oval. w

- From the under side of each of the sockets 21 projects an arm 25, carrying an antifriction-roller 26, which rolls upon the shelf-like segment or recess 27, projecting from the plate 16. These arms 25 are, especially for large oars, made adjustable by being secured to the sockets with screws, as at 28in Fig. 7 so that when the arm or roller wears the arm may be adjusted by filing off from a chippingstrip (not shown) atthe inner side of the flat end of the arm or by putting a lining between The top plate 18 is provided with a central upwardly-projecting pocket 29, housing two rollers 30, (see Fig. 7,) which bear upon the segments 20 20 and keep them from frictional contact with the top plate the same as the rollers 26' keep 99 the segments from frictional contact with the lower plate 16. The bolt 31, on which the rollers 30 revolve, is passed through vertically-slotted holes 32 in the sides and in the central wall 33 Of the pocket, so that when it 5 wears it may be adjusted downward by the screw 34, touching with its point at the middle of the bolt. I

In Figs. 3 and 6 it will be seen that the pin 15 is provided with a spring-catch 35, secured at 36 and, plying in the slot 37 of the pin, takes a firm hold of one of the lips 14, so that the pin cannot possibly work out, while at the same time it may be touched on the side of the point 38, so as to disappear sidewise into the pin, which may thus be removed in an instant when the oars are to be removed from the boat or exchanged from side to side, as below explained. 39 is a light chain or cord securing the pin to the oar, so that it will always be handy and not left in the baseplate,where children might remove and lose it.

In Fig. 5 a special construction of the segments 20 20 is shown in that the segments or gears are eccentric and turned each with its large radius toward the small radius of the other, so that when the operator makes an even motion with the handle of the oar the blade will move in one direction with an increased and in the other direction with a decreased speed. The three advantages gained by this arrangement will be best understood and appreciated by oarsmen who have used oars for various kinds of rowing. In the first place the speed of light boats and boats in general increases toward the end of the stroke of the oar in the water, and consequently calls for a speedier motion of the operators body into a leaning position, from which it takes so much more exertion to return, as not only the weight, but also the increased momentum of the body-must be overcome. The leaning of the body ought, therefore, to be reduced as much as possible and the motion of the body ought to decrease toward the returning point or greatest incline, and these two advantages it is obvious that we gain for ordinary rowing. in towing vessels, logs, or other floats, which is quite frequently done by row-boats, the oars may readily be exchanged to the opposite sides of the boat and will then move slowly through the water toward the end of the stroke at the time the tow-line is stretched and almost arrest motion of the boat, and when the cars are lifted from the water and the sinking tow-line retracts the boat at an increasing speed the oars will move forward Very quickly and take a new hold in the water before the boat has got well started on its rearward motion, which motion if allowed to go on afew moments produces a momentum of the boat and its occupants sufficient to waste half or more of the oarsmans power to overcome it.

From the above description it will be seen that we provide a simple, durable, adjustable, almost frictionless, bow-facing oar in which power and speed may be increased or decreased toward either end of the stroke, all without having the operator look in the opposite direction to that in which he is rowing, as is the regular old style of rowing.

As already above indicated, for light boats or boats using sails mostly and very little the The third advantage is that.

oars the friction-rollers 26 and 30 may be omitted, and the frame-plate 16 will then he, as in Fig. 3, Without the recesses 27, and the upper or top plate 18 will then be Without the pocket 29.

' Having thus described our invention, whatwe claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent of the United States, is'

1. In a bow-facing car, the combination of an angle-plate-shaped support adapted to be secured to the side and top of the gunwale of the boat, the tilting frame-plate 16, pivoted thereto by a pin having an interlocking easilyoperated spring-catch holding it in place; the intermeshing heads 20 and 20 pivoted with headed pivots upon said frame-plate, and having the sockets 21, with the handle-section and blade-section of the oar secured therein; the cap or top plate 18, covering the heads of the pivots, the posts 19, located beyond the gears and holding the plates'16 and 18 apart, and bolts or screws about central with the posts, securing the plates firmly together, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. Ina bow-facing oar, the combination of a base-plate adapted to be secured to the boat, a tilting frame pivotally secured ,there*-\ to, a pair of intermeshing mutilated gears or segments pivoted in the frame and having each a socket; the handle-section and bladesection of the oar secured in the sockets, and antifriction-rollers supporting the oar-sections, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

a base-plate adapted to be secured to the boat, a tilting frame pivotallysecured thereto, a pair of intermeshing gears or segments pivoted in the frame and having each a socket; the handle-section and blade-section of the oar secured in the sockets, and antifriction-rollers supporting the oar-sections near the outer edges of the frame and also antifrictionrollers holding down the segments or gears near theirintermeshing point, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a bow-facing oar, the combination of a base-plate adapted to be secured to the boat, a tilting frame supported thereby, a pair of intermeshing gears or segments pivotally mounted in the frame, and having each a socket; the handle-section and blade-section of the oar securedin the sockets; saidintermeshing gears being eccentric and turned each with its largest radius toward the smallest radius of the other gear, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In a bow-facing oar, the combination of a base-plate adapted to be secured to the boat, a tilting frame supported thereby, a pair of intermeshing segments or gears pivotally mounted in the frame and havingeach a socket; the handle-section and blade-section of the oar secured in the sockets, and antifriction-rollers supporting the oar-sections near the outer edges of the frame and also antifriction-rollers holding down the seginents or gears near their intermeshing point, said intermeshing gears being eccentric and turned each with its largest radius toward the smallest radius of the other gear, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. In a bow-facing oar, the combination with a baseplate adapted to be secured to the boat, a tilting frame supported thereby, a pair of intermeshing segments or gears pivotally mounted in the frame and having each.

a socket; the handle-section and blade-seetion of the oar secured in the sockets and adjustable, antifrietion-roliers supporting the I oar-sections near the outer edges of the frame, and also antifriction-rollers holding down the intermeshing edges of the segments or gears, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof we aifix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN STEELE ANTON OLSON. Witnesses:

J P. ALLEN, CHAS. W. ALLEN. 

